


Behind the Curtain

by MiniShimi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drinking, Explicit Sexual Content, Implied Relationships, M/M, Miscommunication, Multi, Mutual Pining, Panic Attacks, Pining, Polyamory, Recreational Drug Use, Sexual Content, Shklance Big Bang, Slow Build, Slow Burn, shklance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 12:15:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13903824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniShimi/pseuds/MiniShimi
Summary: The closest thing to performing Keith Kogane has ever done was sing in the school choir in his elementary school Christmas Shows. Anything besides that consisted of helping with the set on stage and being Townsfolk #5.So, it was a huge surprise to him when he agreed to auditioning for Olkarion University’s annual musical, on the condition that Shiro, his longtime best friend and crush, volunteer as a stage hand. This was all a part of an effort Keith vowed to make to be more social and expand his friend circle. He’s tried clubs and social events, but he was never quite able to get the hang of it.What better way to come out of your shell than to audition for one of the most daring and revolutionary musicals in Broadway history?Better yet, compete against the raising star of the Theatre School and fall in love with him in the process?Needless to say, Keith succeeds in getting the role, and ultimately realizes that he was going to get more than he bargained for.





	Behind the Curtain

**Author's Note:**

> *Takes a deep breath*
> 
> This took me a millennia and fifteen minutes but it is here for your enjoyment and stuff for the Shklance Big Bang. It was nice meeting the lot of authors in the same boat of struggle as myself, so I had some fun (considering how stressed I've been writing this entire piece in the first place).
> 
> Big thanks to a number of people who have encouraged me and helped me, and my biggest thanks goes to the artists I worked with and who put up with me: [lovecinnatwist](http://lovecinnatwist.tumblr.com/) and [milkhoneygore](https://www.instagram.com/milkhoneygore/)
> 
> Explicit content in the second part of this posted chapter. Please enjoy this unbeta'ed story! Part two will be posted by next week at the latest.

#  **I.**

 

“Okay, point…but you’re wrong.” Pidge’s voice rang out from her end of the room, sitting across from her brother Matt, while typing out her paper. It’s already three weeks into the first semester of their junior year, and already, papers were already assigned with a due date set.

“What do you mean I’m wrong, you little Gremlin?”

Keith was sitting lazily on the loveseat of his and Pidge’s dorm room, messing around with a Rubix Cube Shiro gave him for his eighteenth birthday. His ears were partially occupied with one earbud buried deep into his left ear, while his right took in the words of his friends arguing about Sasquatch knows what. He was supposedly done with own assignments for the time being and was just hanging with the Holts waiting for Shiro to come back from picking up their pizza. Keith should be used to the concept of Shiro refusing to go for delivery if the place was literally fifteen minutes within walking distance.

_“You know I prefer to walk everywhere. Everything is pretty much within walking distance in this tiny ass college town, so might as well.”_

_“You’re just a freak Shiro.”_

_“Yeah, but that never stopped you from hanging around me. Totally the pot calling the kettle black.”_

He hummed softly to the music playing from his earbud, creating an even more of a lasting imprint in his mind, compared to the countless other times he’s replayed this song. He lightly mouthed the words as his eyes never left the series of colorful squares before him.

His mind drifted elsewhere, contents of school occupying his mind, but not quite the academics. He was more concerned about what he was going to do to put himself more out there. It wasn’t that he was forced in any way to change his ways in terms of how he socializes, but he felt that he had more to offer than good grades and ambition to be the next Astrophysicist.

He feels that there is more out there for him to encounter and explore. The campus was big and full of all walks of life. He's lucky enough to come in with the people he's known half his life - Shiro, and the Holt Siblings. He met Shiro when he was finally adopted by a Japanese-Korean couple, who were unable to conceive naturally, when he was entering the third grade. At the school, he met Pidge first, a tiny third grader who already skipped two grades and seemed like she needed to test out of elementary altogether (she claimed that her parents didn't want her to feel way too out of place, but she seemed fine with being around the older kids anyway).

The two got along immediately, seeing as the two were a bit of the outliers in their otherwise normal classroom. It wasn't that they were weird, it was just that Pidge was essentially a genius at her age (and younger), and Keith had a few issues when it came to his emotions. The two became inseparable the moment Keith introduced her to the concept of weird, possibility non-existent monsters (Read: Cryptids). Both were rather a formidable duo, tag-teaming against bullies and smart-alec teachers alike.

High school, was when Keith met Shiro - and was faced with his very first encounter with the concept of a crush.

He met the older boy in his Freshman year, through Pidge's older brother, junior level Matt. Like Pidge, Matt skipped several grades, virtually the youngest in his class. He was close with a Japanese boy who was in the same grade level as him, and they somehow met when Pidge and Matt's parents decided to invite them and their families over for an informal dinner.

Keith always heard the concept of losing one's breath, but he thought it was an exaggeration - until he met Shiro. Until now, Keith still isn't sure if he was breathing properly, if at all.

After the initial meeting, Keith sought out Shiro, every opportunity he could. And when they did meet, he learned everything he could about the other. For instance, he quickly figured out that Shiro's full name was Takashi Shirogane, he was born in Japan - Osaka to be exact. Keith also learned that the older boy loved flying and had ambitions to become a pilot or even an astronaut. Keith saw the pure joy on the other's face whenever he brought it up, and Keith decided to look more into it, and found that it was just as fascinating as Shiro described.

From those days, Keith remained faithfully by Shiro side, knowing very well that his crush would go unanswered, but being the older boy's friend was more than enough for him.

Keith was happy with what he had now, and he did meet a few other people, but it wasn't by much. He was fine with the little group he had for a long time but being in college was a whole different experience for him. He somehow felt that there was more out there for him to gather and learn about, but with what, he had no clue. So, he remained in the small group, going to and from class, accompanying Shiro to his Frat House parties, and planning Cryptid hunting days with Pidge, with Matt sometimes tagging along for the fun of it.

The direction of his turning wheels did change, when he was invited by Allura to see a stage play at the end of his first year. It was a modern take on the Shakespearean story of Othello, and Keith just loved it. It was no secret that he loved the theater, it was just that he never really found the courage to really be in any big roles - only as a stagehand or Townsfolk #5. He considered that this was something he could try out again but was ultimately swamped with enough school work to be unable to think much about it again.

His thought bubble popped when he heard a knock at the front door. Matt stood up, never once slowing down his point of the debate, and opened the door to make way for a rather buff young Japanese man holding three boxes of large pizzas.

 

 

 

"Shiro! You're alive with my pizzas! I knew I loved you for a reason!" Matt grabbed them and helped Shiro put them down on the small dorm table.

"Oh, is that all I am good for?" Shiro said jokingly, grabbing the plastic and paper plates and utensils.

"What? Of course not!" Pidge piped up, closing her laptop. "You also have a butt one could bounce several quarters off from. Matt's words, not mine."

At this, Shiro laughed and Matt jokingly shook a fist at his sister while fighting down a furious blush.

Well, they weren't wrong for saying that. Not at all. But that was something Keith was going to keep to himself, and himself only.

Shiro glanced over to Keith, shooting him a wink, and warmth blossomed deep in the younger man’s chest.

"What do you think, Keith?" He asked, and cocked an eyebrow in a way Keith swore was flirtatious. "Is that all I am good for?"

"You're good for friendship." Keith automatically answered and dived in to grab a pizza without looking at Shiro, while Matt snorts and Pidge raises an eyebrow.

"You hear that, Shiro? _Friendship._ " At this, Pidge drew an imaginary rainbow over her head with her hands, very reminiscent of _The More You Know._ "If that's not important, I don't know _what_ is."

"Oh my god, Pidge shut up." Keith called from his corner of the tiny kitchenette.

"I will not. Certainly not when my best friend sounds like he's spent too much time watching My Little Pony."

"He actually did, Pidge, you know this." Shiro jumped in, and a strangled, semi-scandalized noise escaped from the back of Keith's throat.

"Oh I know." Pidge said with a rather malicious grin, and Matt was much too busy laughing at Keith's demise.

Traitors, the lot of them. This is what he got for putting up with such losers and weirdos his entire life. He swore by everything in his biological mother's grave that he always seemed to attract all things weird.

He didn't seem to pay attention to the fact that he said of this out loud, since Shiro pulled him into a headlock while Mat got into position to -

"No, don't you dare! Stop - !" Keith couldn't finish his thought as Matt's fingers assaulted his ribs, unable to move anywhere else as Shiro held him firm. The younger college student wasn't complaining very much - his face was pressed against one of Shiro's well sculpted biceps. He was becoming lightheaded at laughing to hard and at his hormones putting him through a rush because he was in the arms of Shirogane.

"Alright, I we gotta eat before the gremlin over here eats everything in sight, leaving nothing for us." Matt said, and removed his fingers and rushed over to poke Pidge away from the food (saw that she already had five slices on her place - how she can eat so much in one sitting goes beyond the men in the friend circle).

Keith quickly untangled himself from Shiro's hold before he embarrassed himself, thankful that his red face could be easily contributed to the tickle attack he just went through. He quickly took a deep breath and grabbed a plate, pilling just as much pizza onto it. He grabbed a drink, and snuck a peek over to Shiro, who was looking over to him with a soft expression on his face. And just as quickly, Keith glanced away and busied himself with a cup of strawberry flavored Fanta.

Keith picks his things up, and glances over to Pidge to gesture over to the couch, and he nearly blushes at the quick knowing look she shot him before nodding minutely, still chatting a mile a minute with her brother.

He settled down on the couch and placed his things onto the coffee table to give himself a little time before practically inhaling his dinner. He felt the dip of the couch, knowing it was Pidge without looking due to how deep the dip of the cushions went.

"We gotta talk later, weirdo." She said in a voice low enough for only Keith to hear, before she took a bite into one of her slices. "You've got it so bad, it hurts just to be in the same room as you."

Well shit, was he that obvious?

"Yes, yes you were, emo love child."

Keith groans with a sigh, before taking the first bite of his food.

Keith made a face and tried to hide it as he chewed his pizza. He tried to shake off the glances that Pidge was shooting him, but he was more focused on the banter between Shiro and Matt. They were talking about nothing important, until he heard his name being called.

"Huh, what?" Keith blurts out unintelligibly, blatantly ignoring the snigger coming his small best friend.

"So what about it?" Matt asks.

"What about what?"

"This year's musical, what else did you think I was talking about?"

Oh, right.

"Well, what about it?" Keith knew where this was going.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Playing dumb, huh? Shiro told me that you were thinking about auditioning for a part." He sat back in his spot on the ratty Lay-Z-Boy their dad, Sam, gave to Pidge when she first moved out of the house. "Have you thought about what role?"

Keith gave a one shouldered shrug. "I dunno. I just thought I'd probably go for a minor role, or even an extra."

Matt gave a dramatic gasp, and sat up, nearly knocking over his drink from the cup holder. "How dare you sell yourself short? Why don't you go for one of the bigger roles?"

Keith shook his head. "Why should I? I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna get the role anyway."

At this, Shiro shook his head, and Keith squirmed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with his own answer. It was as if he disappointed Shiro, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Keith, Matt is right. Don't sell yourself so short. There is no pain in trying out one of the bigger roles."

"But I'm not trained for this, Shiro."

"That doesn't matter. I've seen you perform before, and I know your singing voice. It doesn't hurt to try." Shiro said with a kind smile, and Keith tried not to melt on the spot.

"Where have you seen Keith perform?" Pidge asks, and Keith stiffened. "The only thing I've ever seen him in is a one-liner in one of the Christmas shows in the seventh grade."

"Oh, well..."

Keith frantically sent him a wide-eyed look, and unfortunately, Pidge quickly caught on.

"What have you witnessed, Shirogane?" She pushed, and Shiro gave Keith a helpless look. Everyone in the room knew just how relentless she could be when she wanted a piece of important information. She could go as far as physical harm, but rarely goes that far.

"I've seen Keith perform in his room. He would sometimes bring me in and show me what he's worked on and sometimes even sing."

Keith was mortified.

"It was cute."

"Oh my god..." Keith murmured, trying to sink deep into his seat, but to no avail when he's holding a plate with pizza he's trying not to drop.

"Did he wear any costumes?"

"Shiro, don't answer that -" Keith began.

"Oh yeah, most of them of his own creation too."

"I need to see photographic evidence." Matt pipes up, and Keith just shoots him a nasty glare that ultimately went ignored or unnoticed.

Shiro's laugh was like magic in Keith's veins, and he tried not to let it affect him so much.

"I actually do, Mrs. Kogane has an entire mini-photo album full of Polaroids of him in his own costumes."

Pidge lit up. "I know what I'm going to ask next time your mom visits, Keith."

"Don't you dare."

"Yes, I dare, Keef. Yes, I fucking dare."

"Pidge." Keith nearly groaned into his plate.

"I'm deathly curious to see little bitty you in your own handmade costume."

"Don't be, because you won't see them."

"Haaaaa, you're cute to think that you have any control over that decision."

" _So, anyways, about Keith and the musical._ " Matt jumped back in, before the conversation went completely off the rails (as per usual. Horrible habit among all of them, really). "The point I am trying to make is that Keith is naturally inclined to be a part of the theater experience. He's clearly cut from the cloth and has some sort of passion towards it. Why not jump into something that you might be really good at anyway?"

There was a contemplative silence, and Keith thought about it. Matt was right: he _did_ love everything there was about the theater: the classical monologues of Shakespeare, the dramatic retelling of U.S. History; he loved all of it. It didn't make much sense to push it off and miss an opportunity of a lifetime. Besides, this was college, he had to try new things anyway.

“I guess you’re right,” Keith begins cautiously, giving a one shouldered shrug. “I do like that stuff a lot…it really won’t hurt to try it.”

“That’s the ticket!” Pidge exclaims, slapping the older boy on the back, nearly making him choke. She quickly apologized as Matt lightly scolded her. Keith glanced over to Shiro, who was beaming with a proud gleam in his eyes. Keith shyly smiled back before quickly turning his attention back to his meal before a blush decided to take permanent residence on his cheeks.

 

 

\----

 

 

“Look, all I am saying is that it isn’t possible for there to be more than one Mothman. Like, how is that even a concept? Other Mothmen besides _The_ Mothman?” Pidge slowly exhaled, and smoke lazily drifted from her nostrils. “I dunno, man. It just isn’t likely.”

Keith slowly blinked as he held the smoke in his lungs after inhaling from the blunt pinched between his index finger and thumb. He allowed for the effects of the smoke to take over and bring his consciousness into another plane of existence. Pidge reached out for it and he handed it back to her without looking over to his side, where she laid prone on her back, staring at the ceiling stars glowing with the black light in the corner of the room.

“Look, Pidge,” smoke escaped his lips as he spoke up. “all I’m saying is that it’s a possibility. He could have, like, mated with Sasquatch or another human being.”

“What the fuck?” Pidge said a little roughly, coughing a little in her haste to respond. “Why would Sasquatch and Mothman fuck each other? And isn’t Sasquatch a dude?”

“Hey, we actually don’t know that.” Keith responded in kind. “Sasquatch could be very well capable of producing babies – it may not even follow the same rules as human beings do when it comes to Biology – or some shit, I don’t fucking know.”

“No…I think you’re onto something.”

He hears her shift again, but this time to grab a bag of chips.

“I’m fucking starving.”

“We just had pizza two hours ago.”

“Yeah, and? I told you this shit makes me wanna eat an entire house.”

“Instead of a whole cow?” Keith said with a snort. “That’s definitely an upgrade.”

“Ohmygodshutup.”

Keith couldn’t bother with holding back an ugly laugh. He was too far gone to really care all that much, too focused on the pleasant sensations that shifted beneath his skin. His deep sapphire eyes drifted across the ceiling, tracing shapes that otherwise didn’t exist.

“You know,” he began in a soft voice, catching Pidge’s lazy attention. “I’m actually excited for this.”

“What? Eating a house?”

“No, you dork, the audition. It’s been a long time since I’ve been a part of something, and if I do well, everyone will see what I contributed. What I _did._ ” An unbridled sense of excitement bubbled up to the surface, over all else he was feeling.

“Wow, Keith,” Pidge said quietly. “You’re really looking forward to this.”

The young man nodded. “Yup. And maybe with what I’ll do, it’ll help me be a better person and understand myself more.”

He peered over to his friend when she was being uncharacteristically quiet and found that she was just staring at him.

“ _What?_ ”

“Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Oh c’mon, Pidge…”

“I kid, I kid. But, that’s awesome, dude. I’m rooting for you!” She threw her arms up in a cheer, and Keith rolled over her with a laugh.

  


 

 

#  **II.**

 

 

Keith breathed calmly as he rolled his neck and took out the flyer he carried around with him for the past couple of weeks. He knew he's been thinking much too hard about this, so much so that he even forgot to bring his guitar out to the Quad for his bi-weekly session of "Keith's Thoughts for Wonderwall", but he couldn’t help it.

He couldn't help the fact that he wasn't 100 percent sure if he could go through with it. Well, he could, he knew he can, but there was something akin to nervousness and uncertainty that he felt was holding him back. He had the talent to back him up, and he certainly wasn't afraid of failure - he'd be damn he'd let failure bring him down on any aspect of his life; he'd rather beat that shit down with a stick.

 

 

 

 

He glanced back down at the flyer, and he bit his lip at the title, Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. Surrounding the letters, was a kaleidoscope of bright, but soft colors blending together as a paper version of an acid trip - or the vomit of a very inebriated unicorn. Either way, it suited what the musical seemed to be about - freedom, peace, love, and hippies. It wasn't something completely foreign to him, since he's been considered a rebel himself. Just, not in the peace-loving way that this story seems to be about. He was more like the little punk asshole he prided himself to be...but this could be his way to change that or at least add to it.

He didn't need to be angry all the time. He didn't need to feel like snapping or fighting any other person who looked at him the wrong way. It wasn't needed at all, he knew better, but he couldn't help it. He had a lot of anger to sort out, and he was just naturally rebellious, especially against authority in general. Either way, this was a different pool he wanted to wade in.

The other reason that he felt himself holding back materialized several feet away: a young man tall, brown skin, and growing, curling long hair tied up in a small bun on his head. Keith's eyes followed the figure as he moved from one building to the one he say near - closely accompanied by a slightly taller, deeper brown skin and much bulkier young man in a bright ensemble and orange headband. Keith could hear their voices but wasn't close enough to hear what they were actually saying. He could tell that the taller boy said something rather amusing, because the first boy threw his head back and laugh boisterously.

Keith swore under his breath as he felt a strange sort of fluttering within the pit of his belly. The only other person who made him feel like this was someone he's known for many years but is certain it wouldn't work out. Now, Keith had no clue if this tall boy would even know he existed.

 _'Well, he might really know after the audition.'_ Keith thought rather sardonically. He thought this because the boy in question was Lance Espinosa - Drama Major, and the theater school's audacious rising star. The first time Keith saw him on stage was a year and a half ago, in his freshman year for a production he forgot the name of. Lance was in a small but memorable role and Keith found himself falling for theater a little harder than before. Last May, however, was the icing on the cake, when he dragged Shiro to see a production of A West Side Story, after seeing Lance's name on the bill as one of the big supporting roles - Bernardo. It was unheard of for a Sophomore to take on a role like that, since these roles were usually reserved for students nearing the end of their college career. Lance must have wowed the casting directors enough to snag the role - even if by a small margin.

And boy did Lance kill it.

Even if he got a role that only made his character die in the middle of the story, the boy fucking sold it and was an amazing dancer, and incredible singer. His attitude and energy carried very much of the show - well him and the girl who played Anita. Both were absolute fire and practically brought the entire house down with their energy and banter.

Keith knew it wasn't a competition, but it some ways it felt like it. He knew for a fact that if he went for it, he wasn't going to get it - because Lance will be right there to snatch it right up. The funny thing about it, was the fact that Keith wouldn't be upset. He would be more than glad to have it taken from him, as it would have been fair and square. He can't say that they were on equal footing, Keith has no clue where he stood in terms of vocal prowess and stage presence. But he did know that he had some sort of talent and knew he could sing, so it wouldn't be too far off.

He looked up again in time to see Lance and his friend disappear behind the large wooden oak doors for their next class. He sighed to himself and gathered his things to head back to his dorm for his own class that started in thirty minutes.

Maybe he'll be able to make up his mind by then, who knew?

 

 

\----

 

 

Keith all but collapsed on his bed after stumbling in through his dorm room door and dropping all his things next to his room. This class always took a lot out of him and he's always ready to just pass out and sleep for the next ten thousand years.

Just as he was about to do that, his phone rang, blaring out the lyrics to Scorpions _No One Like You_ customized as Shiro's signature ringtone (when Shiro inquired about it, Keith just gave him a half-assed excuse on it being his favorite song. It made sense that he paired it with his favorite person, and thankfully, Shiro didn't press further about it - although he could swear that there were certain times that Shiro looked at him in a rather peculiar way, he didn't press the matter anymore). Keith wrapped his fingers around his phone and he quickly answered with a haphazard swipe.

"Waddup, loser?" Keith said loudly into the receiver.

"Hey asshole. You didn't forget our date, right?" Shiro's voice was partially masked by the noise of traffic behind him, but it still rang clear and true in Keith's head.

"You need to stop saying shit like that," Keith huffed, rolling onto his back, biting his lip. He slipped his hand underneath his hoodie and shirt, fingers pressing gently against the happy trail of hair just above the waistband of his jeans. "You're going to make people think that we're actually dating." He inhaled at Shiro's deep laugh, sending shock waves of sensation beneath the expanse of muscle beneath his skin.

"And since when did you care? As far as you're concerned, we could be, and it wouldn't make much of a difference to you. Would it?"

Keith knew he was joking, they always said shit like this to each other all the time. It's gotten to the point where their own friends would tune them out - which was lucky for Keith. For him, it was a routine that pushed him nowhere near platonic feelings for Shiro. It was in fact the opposite, but Keith wasn't going to admit that out loud. Certainly to no one else, or to his best friend.

Most certainly not to himself.

"Whatever. What time are we meeting? And what are we eating?" His fingers played lightly with his hair and rubbed against the fabric of his jeans, while Shiro huffed.

"You said you'd let me treat you to some Ethiopian. So that's what we're doing in forty-five minutes. I'll kick your ass if you actually forgot."

"Oh my god, Shiro, Broseph, you know I haven't. I'll be at the place - it's on Central and Dodge, right?" He closed his eyes as the sensation beneath his skin started to build in the pit of his belly, spreading warmth all over him. Shiro laughed again at the stupid nickname Keith gave him.

"You're so stupid, yeah, it's there, Brogane. See you in forty-five."

" _You're_ stupid. Okay, I'll see you there."

Keith hung up and dropped his phone beside him, sighing and contemplating whether or not he'd have the time to beat one off before meeting Shiro. He knew he wouldn't when they came back together, at least maybe not until tomorrow, so Keith thought -

"Fuck it."

And pushed himself against the head of his bed, and prompted his back against his pillows and his walls. He reached into his nightstand and pulled out a half-empty bottle of lube that was hiding underneath his piles of useless paperwork. He set it beside him, then shifted himself to shimmy himself out of his pants and his half hard dick stood at half-mast.

He exhaled through his nose and got to work.

He wrapped his fingers around his dick for a few experimental tugs, and he nearly moaned at the sensation of his own calloused fingers against silky skin. He grabbed the lube and coated his hand, capping the bottle and throwing it back down beside him. He propped his legs up and spread them wide enough for room and to see the action before him. He wrapped his hand around his dick again, his other hand rubbing very soft and teasing circles onto the pubic hair surrounding his base and within the crease of his groin.

He closed his eyes at the sensation, and he calmed himself. Before he knew it, a familiar face materialized behind his closed lids and he began.

The pace was slow at first, the face taking on the shape of the man he found himself rarely without. He bit his lip as he felt himself harden even more, and he jerked his hips slightly upwards for more friction and motion. He twisted his wrist and applied pressure on various points of his cock, moans escaping his lips. A heat, almost as intense as a flame appeared within his muscles and pooled itself into the pit of his belly, adding onto the ever-building pressure of his incoming orgasm.

"Haaa..." It came out almost high but maintained that low guttural sound of raw and primal desire. He opened his eyes to see his hand speeding up and brushed his thumb against the red and swollen tip, smearing the pre-come that began to pool and drip onto his exposed belly.

His breathing became harsher as the sensation became hotter and heavier. He took his free hand and ran it through the mop of hair on his head and began to quietly call out -

"Ngh, S-Shiro."

This brought about a spike that pushed him closer to the edge, but not quite. He tried again -

"Shirooooo..." His moan was the same primal guttural sound that it was earlier. He turned his head and nearly buried his face into his sleeve but refused to look away. He kept it up, and nearly imagined Shiro right there in between his legs, helping Keith reach completion with his hand and mouth.

"A-ah, ah, _fuck Shiro!_ " He nearly screamed as his orgasm rippled through his entire body as white ribbons coated his hand, belly and sweatshirt, toes practically curling themselves into a borderline cramp into the sheets.

Keith took a moment to gather himself, basking in the not quite satisfying, but it will do after shock of his orgasm. He sighed as he looked at the mess he made and sat up. He grabbed some tissues and wiped up what he could but gave up with a grunt and took off his clothing entirely. He stood up, feeling a bit more loose and relaxed, and went to take a shower.

After another ten minutes and another, but quicker, masturbatory period, Keith gathered himself and changed into a somewhat cleaner set of clothing. He hid the evidence of his earlier excursion, double checked for his wallet and keys, and shut the apartment door behind him.

 

 

\----

 

 

“Keith!”

The boy blinked and glanced around at his surroundings. He was approaching the said address for the dinner date, and already the area held some sort of crowd, but not enough to form a line that went outside and around the corner. Keith continued to glance around until he saw Shiro standing by one of the tables outside the restaurant. Keith huffed at the older male’s grin and silly demeanor and joined him and punched him lightly on the arm as a greeting. Shiro suddenly pulled him into a bear hug, and Keith prayed to the high heavens above that his body didn’t react unfavorably towards this usually behavior from his best friend.

“I’m so glad to see you!” Shiro exclaims, releasing Keith and smacking him on the arm.

“Dude, we just saw each other this morning before class.” Keith says, making a face at him. Shiro rolls his eyes with a small grin.

“Doesn’t stop me from missing my favorite person.”

Keith fought down a dark blush that he was sure was already blooming across the swell of his cheeks. To his mortification, Shiro raised a finger and poked him on the cheek, and Keith quickly swatted his hand away.

“Oh my god, don’t say shit like that!” Keith nearly screeches, and Shiro laughs, trying to poke him again as Keith made a hasty retreat through the doors of the restaurant.

“Why? It’s obvious you feel the same!”

 _‘You have no fucking clue, do you?’_ Keith’s internal monologue didn’t make it easier to try to comprehend his friend’s behavior. Shiro, despite being a rather closed off kid when they first met, as well as being rather stoic around people he wasn’t very close with, was surprisingly affectionate and personal with the ones he cared for – especially Keith. The younger man was excited about it at first – he still is – but as they got older, Keith saw just _how_ affectionate the other man was being, and it kind of threw him through a loop. Pidge was the first the point it out, but Keith didn’t want to believe it.

Reason: Shiro was his sexual awakening.

Shiro was the one to help him realize that he liked men, as well as women. At first it sent him into a whirlwind of panic – not because of the discovery of his preferences, but because it was his _best friend_ who was the person that he had _very_ erotic wet dreams about. It _really_ didn’t help that Shiro was shooting up like a beanstalk and filling out like an advanced Adonis. The number of times Keith imagined doing dirty things to Shiro made him feel terrible – but at the same time rather shameless in his affection for his best friend. Going back to Pidge – she pointed it out that Shiro probably felt the same, but of course Keith denied it. There was absolutely no way, none whatsoever, that a man as remarkable, wonderful, and hilarious as Shiro would love the introverted and rather rough young man that was Keith.

With that, Keith shoved any hope for a relationship with this man down to the deepest and darkest dungeons of his mind – hoping rather sadistically that it would stay there long enough to get Leprosy (he’s watched _way_ too many Biblical films during the days of being babysat by his old nun aunt), and be too ugly and deformed for any hope to function properly. He knew his was a highly unhealthy way of thinking, but he was desperate to avoid the humiliation and not ruin his bond with Shiro.

“Dude, just, shut the hell up and stop saying shit like that you sap!” Keith nearly groaned. He and Shiro were being escorted to a table to a private booth, knowing the both well enough to know their preference. Keith suspected that the waiter thought that they were dating and had half the mind to correct the man – but all of that flew out of his mind as Shiro slid into his seat and already grabbed the menu with a look of excitement.

Adorable.

_Shit._

Keith sighed as he slid into his own seat across from Shiro and grabbed a menu of his own.

“Are you thinking about it?” Shiro asked, without looking up from his menu. Keith knew what he was talking about but decided to play dumb.

“Thinking about what?”

Shiro shot him a flat look before placing his focus back onto the meal choices. “The musical, Keith.”

The younger man shrugged. “I dunno, maybe I’ll do it. A small role would be good to start off with.”

“Dude, what?” Shiro looked back up again, lowering his menu. “No, go for one of the main roles.”

“Why? I’m gonna fail at it.”

“No,” Shiro pointed a metal finger at him. “You’re _not_ gonna fail at it because you are amazing, Keith. You’re one hell of a singer, you’re better looking than most people I know, and Matt is fucking _adorable_ bro.” He barreled on, ignoring Keith’s giggle, “You never back down from a challenge, and this is one hell of a challenge for you.” He gives Keith a crooked smile, and Keith forces himself not to melt. “You can do it, I _know_ it.”

Keith buries his face into his menu, praying that his red ears were covered by his long hair.

“Just give it a shot, Keith. You _got_ this.” Shiro’s voice came out soft and encouraging, and Keith’s blush intensified.

He was right, and Keith sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll think about it.”

  
  


#  **III.**

 

 

Keith sighed as he took a seat in one of the chairs of the school’s café. This wasn’t a spot he’d normally sit at, but he had a lot on his mind and he wasn’t in the mood to do all that extra walking to go to that super comfortable café he worked at three blocks away.

He closed his eyes and recalled what he learned in class just a few minutes ago, refreshing his mind in a personal method of memorization he developed to help with taking in such massive amounts of information at a time.

He sensed a strange shift near him and he quickly figured out that there was someone approaching him. A familiar perfume drifted into his nose and his eyes snapped open and looked up into the familiar blue eyes of a silver-haired bombshell.

“Hey Allura.”

“Hello Keith!” She responded in a light, but excited voice. Her gorgeous smile lit up her face, and Keith would admit that he had a hard crush on her the first couple of months they met and talked. His feelings have mostly faded, but he couldn’t deny just how beautiful this young woman was and how lucky he was to have her as one of his closest friends.

She placed her hands onto her hips, and her smile shifted into one of a knowing grin. Keith recognized that expression anywhere, so he made a face and –

“Shiro told you, didn’t he?” His voice was a deadpan, and Allura couldn’t help but giggle and clapped her hands together in excitement like a small child.

“He totally did, and I can’t believe it! What made you decide to go for it? What role are you auditioning for?” Her words came out rather quickly, and Keith raised an eyebrow at her excitement.

“Um…Allura, you gotta breathe.”

“Oh! I’m sorry,” She pulls out the chair across from Keith and took a seat, and placed her hands beneath her chin to wait for the answers to her very important questions. “Forgive my intrusive questioning, I’m just really excited over this.”

“What is there to be excited over? I’m just going to sing a song and will probably get put in with the ensemble cast as a background or something.” Keith shrugged, looking back down at his notes, biting his lip.

Allura huffs and sticks her full lips out into a brief pout, before sitting back to observe her friend.

“Keith,” she begins, and the younger man looks up at the gentle and encouraging tone in her voice. “You can’t really know that for sure. It’s incredibly exciting because you’ve never bothered with this before. This is the first of hearing about your bothering with musical theater itself. Honestly, had you said something earlier, we totally would have bonded, and I could have given you more support.” Her lips twisted into a rather cute side grin, and she relaxed. “Shiro told me that you are doing this, not only because you love the theater, but also because you just want to come out of your shell, am I correct?”

Keith blushed, but forged forward. “Y-yeah, I really have tried to at least meet new people through the clubs and other student activities, but none have really caught my interest –”

“ – Until now.”

“Until now, yeah. And I thought it’d be a really fun idea to do it…but I don’t know.” He sighed in slight dejection. “I don’t think I can keep up with those who really want to be there, who know what they are doing and know how to get there.” He glanced back down towards his notes.

“Don’t feel that way, Keith. If it’s any consolation, I’ll be there. I’m auditioning too, so you won’t be alone. Anyways, background characters in this stage story are not just background characters. Many of these characters get a chance to be pulled up front and center, so you can’t really hide behind any lines.” Allura finished helpfully, and Keith released a sigh of relief he had no clue he was even holding on to.

“That’s great Allura!” He says with a soft smile. “At least I won’t feel like crashing and burning alone or anything.”

“Oh my god, Keith you’re not going to crash and burn.” Allura said, rolling her eyes, and Keith sniffed, not really believing her. “I know that you’re an amazing singer, and you’ll do amazingly on this audition.”

Keith shook his head –

“You’ll be fine! Goodness, would it help if I told you that Lance is going to be there?”

At this, Keith blushed, trying to put up a rather nonchalant front. “Yeah, I heard, but I don’t think it’s that much of a big deal.”

“Oh, shut up, Shiro told me that you never stop talking about him.”

Keith groaned. “Does that man tell you _everything_ I do?” At this, Allura just giggled an affirmative, and Keith just muttered darkly about his best friend being _such a fucking mom, dear god._

“You know, he also allowed me to use whatever means necessary to make sure that you follow through with your attempt to audition.”

Keith narrowed his eyes, trying to quell the sudden nervousness in the pit of his belly. “What do you mean? You know you can’t force me to do anything.”

“What? Of course not!” She waved off his concern, but it did nothing to ease the nervousness in his belly. “Persuasion is a much better tactic, one I always use to get my way. And you _know_ I’m good at it, Keith.”

It’s true. In her freshman year, Allura managed to convince a student from another university to grab the mini statue of the school mascot to give to her for a so-called photography project. It turned out that the mini statue was of the mascot of Olkarion University’s football rival, The Galra Panthers, and that the real reason behind the retrieval was to humiliate Galra University in the traditional and yearly dare. How she managed to do such a thing will be something Keith will never be able to figure out – hence his uneasiness.

“Allura…” He began, and the young woman waved him off.

“Don’t over complicate it. The only thing is that I want you to tell me whatever you want, and I’ll get it done.” She says. “I just really want you to go to the audition, Keith.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Keith sighed and sat back, still thinking deeply about this. If it wasn’t for Shiro, Keith would have the chance to avoid talking about it, or at least give vague answers about it until the day of. He sighed again, a little annoyed at his friend…when an idea struck him.

“Volunteer stage hand.” He says suddenly, and Allura gave him a rather inquisitive look.

“What are you talking about?” She asks, and Keith grins.

“If I am going to do this, I need Shiro to volunteer as a stage hand as I do this. I can’t do this alone, and I’d feel much better if I wasn’t going into this alone.”

“You’re not alone, Keith, please remember that.” Allura said gently. “And I think that is a brilliant idea. At least he’ll be right there for you to reach out for if something were to happen.”

She was right. Of course, he wasn’t alone, he couldn’t remember the last time Shiro, Pidge, or any of his close friends weren’t there for him. And having Shiro there to help with the stage set up and props just gives him more courage to do it.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he voiced his thoughts. “and you’re going to be auditioning so it shouldn’t be too bad, right?”

“Exactly! Although, you _will_ have some heavy competition. Lance is one hell of a performer.”

For some reason, that didn’t bother him. If it’s one thing that Keith appreciated, was proper competition, especially in an area he has yet to conquer.

“I hope he brings his best.” He said with a grin, and Allura cheered.

“ _Excellent!_ ”

  
  


 

#  **IV.**

 

 

"I'm going to be there the entire day. I've got to support Lance too, ya know." Pidge informed Keith on the day of the auditions.

"I forgot that you are friends with him." He said quietly. He had no reason to be nervous, yet, there was something about the anticipation of the day that had him feeling nerves that may otherwise put him down and make him forget the whole thing. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, then I'll see you later?"

Pidge nodded and threw herself into his arms into a big hug. Keith wheezed out a breath, suddenly reminded of her inhuman strength. He was even at a loss at how she was much stronger than her brother but knew to keep his mouth shut to avoid her deadly punches. She suddenly released him and runs off to class. Keith breathed a sigh of relief, mixed with a tinge of amusement. He just had to get through his classes and prepare himself for the auditions.

\---

Keith was ready to bolt. Back and forth he had been with his choice for a solid month, and right now his verves are making a vicious return. He knew very well what he promised to his friends, but he has no problem breaking this one promise he made to them and he'll think about doing it again next year. Maybe he'll be braver then. He wasn’t certain, but he shook his head again and took in another deep breath, while adjusting the straps of his messenger bag.

_'Here goes nothing.'_

He pushed through the doors of the auditorium, and immediately he heard voices echoing from the stage from his spot inside the foyer. The second set of doors were closed, for what he figured for privacy. He also figured that it was to prevent nervousness to reach a high for anyone to just walk in and observe.

He went to the side doors and opened it. Inside was quite dark, save for the lights from the stage and a few along the aisles. He squinted against the darkness, trying to see if he could find he friends, and he managed to find Pidge's figure with her signature Mad Scientist hair style. She was sitting next to a hulking figure in a seemingly bright yellow shirt. On the opposite side of her was the platinum locks of Allura sitting in anticipation.

"Hey loser, ready to kill it and blow everyone out of the water?" Shiro's voice startled the daylights out of the younger boy and he jabbed Shiro in the gut by pure instinct. Shiro doubled over with an _'Oof!'_ forced out of his lungs _._ At that moment, he was simultaneously apologetic and annoyed.

"Shit, I forgot you have quick reflexes."

"And that is what you get for forgetting that I do that when caught off guard. Asshole, you deserved that."

"Yeah, I deserved that." Shiro said with a laugh, rubbing his belly with a faint blush on his cheeks. Keith reasoned that he was embarrassed, not because of anything else.

"So, you ready, or do you want to be a little bitch and chicken out and wait for the next time this happens?"

"Fuck you, I got this." Keith bit out and strutted down the aisle to meet up with their friends. Shiro was chuckling softly, as to avoid bringing any unwanted attention to this side of the room. Keith greeted Allura, who just pulled him down for a bodily hug and held him on her lap, as Shiro greeted everyone else and introduced himself to Hunk.

"Oh, hi! I’ve heard about you and Keith from Pidge and Allura! I'm Lance's best friend!" Hunk's voice was jovial and friendly. There was a sense of joyfulness radiating from his large figure, and Keith quickly concluded that Hunk was the personification of the sun. He had the yellow shirt to boot, so, there.

"Of great, well hopefully all goes well, and we get to actually hang out with each other." Shiro said, smiling warmly, and Keith tears his eyes away from Shiro’s blinding smile. Keith waves at Hunk, feeling a little shy at introducing himself so suddenly, and Hunk waves back with a smile and laugh.

"I think Keith is a little shy." Allura's voice drifted into his ear, and Keith couldn't help but glare at his older friend, who just gave him an innocent smile.

"I'm, not shy!" Keith said with an indignant expression on his face. "I'm just...getting used to new people." He finished the thought with a small frown, and Allura and Shiro just laughed while Pidge patted his knee in sympathy.

"It's okay. Shy people are the most fun anyway." She says, and Hunk snorted.

"Don't let Lance hear you say that." He mentioned, and Keith was suddenly reminded that Lance was doing this too.

Well shit.

"So where is Lance? I thought he was auditioning."

"He is." Allura answered.

"He's just finishing up an assignment I bullied him into doing before he forgets. His mind is all over the place with anything but the arts, and oceanography."

"He doesn't seem that absentminded to me." Keith said quietly, not missing the way Hunk and Pidge smirked at each other.

"That's because you're another person on his List of Interesting People."

What the hell did _that_ mean?

"Wait, what?"

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned around and greeted Lance simultaneously. Keith was still stuck on the ‘List of Interesting People’, and he felt a nudge from Shiro.

“Stop bugging out, Keith.” He said, and Keith makes a face.

“Well, excuse me, Kogane, I didn’t think my presence would offend you so much.” Lance said, as he planted his hands onto his hips with a dramatic huff and a frown.

“W-what? No! I was just…”

Lance waved him off and climbed over the seats to sit on the other side of Hunk, completely ignoring the protests from Pidge as he accidently shoved her head in passing.

“Sorry, Pidge – It’s whatever dude,” he said and flopped down into his seat. He flailed his arms into the air. “You’re just jealous that I’m going to blow everyone out of the water and land that role.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong about that – not the jealous part, but Keith knew that Lance was going to nail that role. He had the personality and energy for it, and Keith wasn’t sure that there was anyone in the auditorium to match or beat it (if it was what the casting director was looking for).

Keith snuck a glance over to where Lance was sitting and couldn’t help his heart from leaping out of his chest. The young man was so beautiful up close and in person. He could tell that Lance was positively vibrating from barely contained energy. His skin was a gorgeous shade of brown, his body much longer and rather lithe than Keith initially gave the other credit for. And his eyes – immediately reminded Keith of the ocean.

Keith is suddenly nervous for a completely different reason.

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the first day of Hair auditions!”

Keith’s eyes snapped over to a rather tall man with a head full of bright orange hair and a thick mustache to match. Lance’s background chatter cut off abruptly and Keith heard a gasp of excitement. Allura finally released him and he sat comfortably beside her at the aisle seat, as the man continued.

“My name is Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, but please just call me Coran.” A cat call and a cheer interrupted him, and he chuckled with a wave. “I am the director, and this lovely young woman here is my casting director, Madame Luxia!” He gestured to a very elegant woman sitting in the first row. She stood up and gave a brief bow to applause and more cat calls and applause.

“Thank you all for coming in and trying your hand out for this magical show.” She continued, standing beside him. Her voice was soft and warm cadence. Keith felt strangely safe. “We are both incredibly excited for this year’s program, as we had quite a successful show last year, and this year’s audition, from what I can see right now, seems to have a great turn out!”

There were great cheers scattered throughout the auditorium and Keith realized that there were more people than he originally thought and felt a strange sense of relief at the self-reassurance that he wasn’t alone in this.

Luxia gestured to a grand piano in the orchestra pit, where a rather tall young man stood up from his spot. “Accompanying us to play your individual pieces will be Robert Castillo, but you can call him Bobby, or even Beboh!” At this, Beboh waved with a big grin.

“Without further ado,” Coran began, and Luxia joined him: “ _let the auditions begin, and break a leg!_ ”

More cheers erupted, and Coran got to work by asking if there was anyone who would like to volunteer first before going down a list. Almost immediately, a loud screech could be heard from the opposite end of the room, from where Keith and his friends sat.

From what he could see, a young woman with a high ponytail and an angular face stood up, while her group laughed and egged her on.

“I wanna get this over with!” She said, bounding down the aisle before Coran or Luxia could get a say in.

“Who is _that_?” Hunk asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, that’s Ezor Rhondi,” Allura responded with a light smile and a laugh. “She’s a theater major with a minor in diplomacy. She’s a distant cousin of Lotor’s.”

“That…explains a lot.” Pidge piped in.

“You know a lot of people, Pidge.” Keith said, a bit stunned at her reaction to different people in the auditorium. The young woman squinted at him.

“I’m not anti-social like you, Keith.” Her voice was flat, and Lance had to struggle not to laugh out right. Keith could only sigh as he turned his attention back to Ezor, who practically cartwheeled onto the stage.

Her antics were met with a couple of laughs and Coran was seen to be shaking his head.

“Good morning, Miss Rhondi. What role will you be auditioning for?” Luxia asked.

“I’ll be going for Jeanie.” The young woman said, placing her hands onto her hips confidently.

“Perfect. And what will you be singing for us today?”

She gave the title of a song from the musical Hairspray with a grin, and Luxia nodded.

“Whenever you’re ready dear.”

The young woman opened her mouth, and Keith was _impressed._ Her energy reminded him of Lance, but it was entirely of her own. She was cute with a sort of edge that he figured is specific to her. He glanced around and saw that everyone was enjoying themselves, pausing on Lance who was making faces.

“Lance, what are you doing?” Keith asked in between one of the breaks of the music.

“Oh, Ezor and I have this thing where we try to break each other’s concentration by any means.” Lance answered, never once breaking his gaze on the stage or pausing in his series of grimaces.

“How long has this been a thing?”

“Oh since freshman year,” Hunk immediately supplied. “Ezor used to break concentration all the time because Lance has a lot of siblings, so he had the upper hand.”

“Shush!” Lance harshly waved at him, seemingly done with the game and was genuinely following Ezor’s audition.

Her song reached its conclusion and the auditorium erupted into applause, her friends screaming above everyone else.

“Thank you Miss Rhondi! That was fantastic!” Coran bellowed with a great big smile, and Ezor preened from all the attention. As she got off the stage, she stuck her tongue out at Lance and he mirrored her expression, ignoring the group’s giggling.

Keith just thought it was plain old cute.

Next up was a rather short young man by the name of –

“Klai Arou!” Coran barked out, and the young man puffed out his chest. “You’re auditioning? For what role?”

“Isn’t he that Freshman who challenged Antok to an arm wrestling match three weeks ago?” Lance whispered asked Allura, and Keith saw her nod.

“Yeah, I have no idea why he’s trying to audition.”

“HUD!”

At this, Coran’s face twisted while Luxia raised an eyebrow.

“If you think you can do it, then by all means.” The casting director said diplomatically and sends Coran a pointed look to keep him quiet. “And what will you be singing?”

“Colored Spade from Act One.”

“No, no, no, absolutely not!” Coran called, gesturing for Klai to get off the stage. “Nope, Next!”

“What? Why?” The young man demanded.

“Yeah, what the hell?” Keith muttered.

“Dude, for someone like him it’s not appropriate.” Lance answered with a cringe, and Keith opened his mouth to retort – “The song is literally about slurs thrown at black people in the United States. It literally has the N-word in it.”

At this, realization dawned on Keith and he couldn’t help but cringe in agreement, looking on as Klai stormed off the stage to jeers and laughter from the other college students.

“Well that was a disaster narrowly avoided,” Coran muttered, and Luxia sighed. “Alright, who’s the next brave soul to come up here?”

The rest of the audition was a bit of a blur, as Keith remembered that he was there to go up and sing in front of all these people as well. He squirmed in his seat, trying to focus on what he was going to sing. He fiddled with the straps of his backpack, when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Shiro smiling at him warmly.

“Relax, Keith,” his deep voice rumbled in his ear and into his bones, and predictably calmed him down significantly. “you got this. You will blow everyone away, I believe in you.” Keith blushed furiously but gave Shiro a grateful smile. Shiro gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and sat back to enjoy the rest of the auditions.

A warmth settled deep in his belly, a weight that grounded him and kept him calm as more and more people went up to try out. Some were great and some others…well just hopped that he wouldn’t have to face that same humiliation.

“ _It’s my time to shine._ ” Allura said as she stood up and stepped past Keith to strut onto the stage. Keith snapped out of his haze in time to hear loud cheering and chanting of her name, as the senior climbed up the stairs and reappeared onto the stage. Keith already knew that she was immensely popular, a conclusion he came to from seeing her in several roles previously. His breath was caught in his throat at how the light reflected the shimmer of her starlight colored hair.

“Miss Altan!” Coran exclaimed, above the cheers of the audience. “And what role will you be auditioning for?”

“I will be auditioning for the role of Sheila Franklin,” Allura answered after standing up from giving Beboh her sheet music. “And the song that I’ll be singing is from the musical itself titled _White Boys_.”

Coran beamed at her and Luxia told her that she could begin when she was ready.

“Fuck it up, babe!” Ezor’s voice echoed through the room and was met with rather obnoxious cheers and Allura’s giggle.

The first couple of notes hit the air and Allura got right into it. Keith remembered listening to this song during his research about the show, and thought it was a very fitting and passionate number for Allura – and she was _killing_ it. She hit all the right notes, moving accordingly across the stage with the right energy and joy in her expressions.

“Oh, she’s got this in the _bag_.” Hunk said appreciatively, and the rest of them hummed in agreement.

“That was _fantastic_ , Miss Altan! Well done!” Luxia praised, and Coran beamed as Allura bowed with a blush. She waved at some of her friends and disappeared behind the curtains to rejoin the small group.

“Ohhhh, you kilt it!” Lance screamed, practically jumping into her arms, and the senior laughed as she caught him. “I’m so proud of you, Princess!”

“Princess?” Keith wondered out loud at the sudden nickname.

“They call each other titles of royalty at the most random times,” Pidge supplied, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t read too much into it.”

Keith was practically glad he came out for this, if only for observing the strange rituals of his new friends.

“Alright! Next up is –” Coran begins again but was interrupted by Lance.

“Me!” Lance yelled and bounded up the stairs and jumped onto the stage with his arms spread wide in a _‘Ta-da!’_ His antics were met with laughter and positive reception, and Keith couldn’t help but laugh at how adorable Lance was.

 _‘Adorable? Really?’_ Keith thought suddenly to himself, before Lance’s voice cut clean through the air.

“I’m auditioning for the role of Claude Hooper Bukoski, and the song I will be singing _‘I Believe’_ from The Book of Mormon.” He grins and both Coran and Luxia laugh, encouraging him to begin.

He did, and boy was Keith _floored._

Lance’s voice took up all the air in the room leaving chills in Keith’s skin in its wake, his energy was enough to motivate the exhausted. Lance was at perfect pitch and the excitement of seeing Lance on stage overwhelmed Keith. At that moment, he wasn’t even worried about his own audition, since he was going for the same role. He was more concerned about being absorbed into Lance’s very being.

Before he knew it, Lance was done and was met with bigger applause and Coran yelling “ _Bravo, my boy!_ ” The high wore down and Keith is suddenly nervous, unsure that he’ll be able to match that for the same role.

“Let’s see anyone try to meet _that_!” Lance said, being pulled into a bear hug by his best friend.

“That was _awesome_ , Lance!” Hunk exclaimed, and Pidge hugged Lance in support. Allura had her turn and nearly picked him up from his feet in joy.

“You got that role for sure, Blue!” She said sweetly, and Lance blushed.

“You are incredible, Lance.” Shiro said kindly. Lance’s blush intensified.

“Hey, thanks man.” He said sheepishly. Keith was speechless and had no idea how to properly compliment Lance.

“U-um, that was really cool, man.” He hoped it sounded okay, and he blushed at Lance’s kind smile.

“Thanks Keith. That means a lot.”

Oh. Okay.

“Keith! It’s your turn!” Pidge’s voice rang out, and Keith blinked at her.

It was? He looked around at the expectant faces of his peers. Since when?

“Keith, go!” Shiro shoved the dazed young man. “Just get it over with, Bro!”

“O-oh. Okay.” Keith said absently, not really registering what was going on. He stood up and his feet took him up the stairs and facing the bright lights of the stage.

Shit. He really was up here.

“Your name, young man?” Luxia asked kindly.

“Uh, Keith,” he blurted out belatedly. “Keith Kogane.” He felt his hands shake.

“Alright Keith, what role are you auditioning for?” She continued.

“Huh? O-oh, Claude Bukoski.” He managed to squeak out. Was his throat closing? He hoped to the high heavens that it wasn’t.

“ _Smooth, Kogane!_ ” Someone taunted from the audience, and couple of jeers erupted. Coran yelled at them to stop it.

“Oy, shut up!” Keith could hear Shiro’s authoritative voice and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Your song?” Luxia asked him, and he startled at her question, remembering that he had the sheet music in his bag – which was on his back.

“A-ah, yes!” He pulled off the bag and took out his slightly wrinkled papers. Yes, his mother taught him better than to carry his papers around without a folder, but it completely slipped his mind that day. He handed the sheet music he printed out for the song to Beboh and he quickly went off stage to place his bag out of sight.

“Um, sorry about that. The song I’ll be singing is by Claude called _‘Where Do I Go?’_ ” He said, his voice wavering a little bit as the lights beat down on him.

“Oh perfect! Then you may proceed when you are ready.”

Keith nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. He felt the warmth of Shiro’s encouragement settle within his body.

“You got this, Keith!” Lance’s voiced echoed towards him, with a few more cheers scattered throughout the room and the encouragement spread itself all over his skin. He took a deep breath and reopened his eyes, nodding down to the pianist.

The first couple of notes hit the air, and for a moment, Keith forgot the words. He began to panic when he missed his que, but shook it off when he thought of the words of his father:

_'Patience yields focus.'_

He took another deep breath and cleared his mind.

“Is everything alright?” Coran asked gently, and Keith nodded.

“Yeah, just let me try again, please.” He responded, and Coran gave him a smile.

“Alright, let’s have it then.”

This time, Keith was prepared, and began when his moment came up. It started off a bit weak, his voice wavering as nerves still took over. He pushed through it felt his voice grow stronger, naturally fitting into the smooth tenor of his character. Adrenaline filled his body as he slipped deep into the psyche of Claude – the misdirection and confusion he felt from the important choices he needed to make in his life. Who was he, and why was he here? Where should he go from here – and _why_ ? What is the _point_?

 

 

 

 

These were the questions that constantly plagued Keith ever since he was much younger, and he felt that he was nowhere near the answers he wanted or even _needed._

Before he knew it, the last remaining note rang clear and strong in the air, and suddenly he’s met with silence, breathing hard.

He messed up.

“Holy shit, man.” Someone blurted out in what sounded like disbelief. Keith couldn’t be bothered with the difference, he was too busy with fighting off a panic attack.

He made the move to run off the stage but is suddenly met with loud applause and a standing ovation. Feeling dazed, he missed the compliments from Coran and Luxia and got off the stage feeling exhilarated. He flushed at Shiro’s sweet and awed reaction –

“Keith, that was incredible -”

“I guess that makes us rivals now, huh?” Lance’s voice cuts through and Keith looks over to see Lance with a mix of emotions on his face. “Congrats, dude. That was killer, but you know that role is _mine_ , Mullet Head.”

“Oh c’mon Lance,” Pidge begins and Keith laughed. Either it was from the nervous energy or something else, he couldn’t tell. At this moment, Keith just wanted to sleep.

“It’s alright, he’s just scared I’ll get the part.” He had no idea what possessed him to say that, but false bravado was certainly a good mask to wear. But either way – he needed to go. “It’s been fun guys, but I gotta go.” He made his way to the exit.

“Wait, Keith,” Shiro trailed after him, “where are you going?”

“Just,” Keith turned around to shoot Shiro a half smile. “I need to do something, okay, Shiro?”

“Um, yeah sure. See you later for dinner?”

Keith nodded and left without another word, practically running out of there.

  
  
  
  


#  **V.**

  


_‘Vrrrrr!Vrrrrr!Vrrrrr!’_

Keith groaned as his phone brought him out of his brief slumber. He blindly patted around him, until his fingers contacted the vibrating object and brought it to his hidden face. He lifted his head and squinted at the screen. He blinked a couple of times to adjust to the brightness and allowed himself a moment before he could fully open his eyes. When he did, he was jolted awake by the number of texts and missed calls from his friends, a few from Shiro – primarily from Allura, Pidge, and Matt.

He raised an eyebrow at the urgency of the calls and texts and sits up to review the messages. His ears picked up the sounds of Pidge and one other person puttering around in the living area. He decided to forgo the message check and slide off his bed onto the floor. He opened the door to catch sight of Pidge and Shiro preparing the area for their dinner. They paused and make identical expressions of happiness.

"Um, hi?"

"Keef!"

"Bro!"

Keith winced at the volume of their greetings, but quickly caught Pidge as she threw herself into his arms with a laugh.

"I guess Sleeping Beauty decided to grace his presence to the rest of us peasants." Shiro chimed in, while placing the paper plates onto the fold out table.

"Nah," Keith began, swinging Pidge around, making her giggle. "I woke up because I smelled food and knew that you didn't cook." He laughed at the look of Shiro's look of feigned offence.

"Oh, thanks for your confidence in my cooking skills." He sniffed. "I'll have you know, I boiled water very well yesterday. Ask Allura."

"You want a gold star for that?" Pidge said, and Shiro just sneered at her.

Keith laughed again and placed Pidge onto the ground and they took their places at the table, where a pile of Chinese takeout containers was waiting to be unboxed and consumed. They unbox everything and dug in.

"Keith, why did you run off like that?" Shiro asked immediately, and Keith sighed between bites.

"Because I know I fucked up that audition, Shiro."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"You really didn't." Pidge said helpfully. "You saw everyone's reaction after the fact. Hell, even Acxa was impressed, and you know Lotor's oldest cousin is hard to impress."

"I...had no idea."

"I got an even better one:" Shiro jumped back in. "Lance was incredibly impressed. I think he's jealous."

Keith just stared at Shiro. That was a lie if he hadn't heard one.

"Nope, that's not a lie." Shiro responded - Keith must have voiced that thought out loud - and he pulled out his cell phone.

"Dude, I don't believe it. Lance thought it was good?" Keith shook his head. "I mean, either way, it doesn't really matter. I'm pretty sure that he's going to get the role. He's got the charisma for it."

Shiro practically shoved the phone into his face, and Keith scrambled to hold it upright. He gave his friend a what-the-fuck expression, and Shiro just pointed at it eagerly. Keith rolled his eyes and glanced down to what he quickly figured was a video. He pressed the 'Play' button, and his cheeks bloomed a deep red as his voice started to fill the room. He’s seen himself sing on screen before, but it never erased the sense of embarrassment he always felt when reviewing himself.

He watched himself stand a little insecurely at first. He looked like he wanted to bolt off the stage, and Keith recalled feeling like that too - but he started to unfurl from himself, straighten his back more, and stand a little taller. He noticed that his voice became stronger, projecting more and more until he was sure that it filled the entire auditorium. He couldn't believe it, but he sounded good. He was able to finally admit to himself that he sounded good, when other times he felt that he only sounded okay or mediocre.

He sounded amazing, and again, he felt remnants of the rush of his audition. It was the first time in years he stood before an audience for anything – usually side roles – but he was doing it to be in the spotlight at almost all times. He smiled to himself.

“See?” Shiro’s gentle voice pulled him out of his revere. He glanced up with deep red on his cheeks and abruptly handed back the phone. “You’re fucking amazing and you’re gonna get the role, Keith. Believe in yourself, man.”

“Yeah!” Pidge pipes up. “You better Believe It!” She finished, striking a pose and quickly avoided a fortune cookie thrown at her head.

 

 

\----

 

 

_One Week Later…_

 

Keith huffed as he leaned against the counter. He’s been on his feet all day and he still couldn’t figure out how a small café can be so damn busy around the clock. Fortunately for him, he was going on his break and it usually went until the last of the evening students rush out of the door with their Americano.

Feeling a bit frazzled, he sat down in the backroom, reveling in the moment of silence, until he remembered to take his phone out of Airplane Mode. As soon as he did, his phone lit up at several texts from his friends, all of them variants of _congratulations!_ Confused, he noted a text message from Pidge, that seemed to be sent to him about two hours earlier:

**[16:30] Pidge**

_[File Sent: 158KB]_

_Apparently, Matt decided to audition as well without telling any of us about it. I’m two parts annoyed af and super proud._

_AND EVERYONE ON THE FUCKING PLANET TOLD YOU SO._

_‘What is she talking about?’_ Keith was still a little confused, this time at her message, but he opened the file that was attached, quickly figuring that it was a picture and froze:

 

HAIR: THE MUSICAL MAIN CAST LIST: 

Claude Hooper Bukoski – Keith Kogane

George Berger – To Be Announced

Sheila Franklin – Allura Altan

Jeanie – Ezor Rhondi

Neil “Woof” Donovan – Matt Holt

Hud – Antok Monahan

Crissy – Shay Mera

 

He couldn’t believe it.

He got the part.

He got the _fucking part_.

He was so giddy and excited, he wanted to scream and quickly covered his mouth and screamed into his hands (he’ll do a proper yell in his dorm after work). However, the feeling quickly wore off when he noticed that Lance’s name wasn’t on there.

 _‘What the fuck?’_ That wasn’t right. That wasn’t right at all. How the hell was it that the other boy auditioned his ass off, showing that he was more than capable of being in the main cast, wasn’t even on the list? Keith felt his frustration bubble beneath his skin as he stood up and decided on a change of scenery to get away from the quiet.

“Well that was a short break.” His co-worker said with a raised eyebrow, when Keith reappeared behind the counter.

The college student shook his head. “Nah, I’m just gonna grab a hot chocolate and sit over there.” He gestured towards a window spot, and his co-worker just shrugged and goes back to work. Keith poured himself a mug and settled in his spot, ready to do some people watching.

The door opened, and Keith looked up and tried not to panic at the sight of Lance coming in with a rather gloomy expression. He moved forward and placed an order for a cup of coffee and stood to the side waiting for his order to be complete. Lance then spotted Keith, immediately recognizing him, and gave him a rather sour look. Keith recoiled and was about to get up to leave, when Lance quickly approached him.

“Hey, man.”

Keith glanced up to see Lance standing before him with an apologetic expression.

“I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry.” Lance began. “I knew you’d get the role, you were practically made for it.” He laughed sadly. “Congrats man, you’ve earned it.”

“O-oh, thanks Lance.” Keith fidgeted. “That means a lot coming from you.”

Lance blushed and waved him off. He was about to answer when he perked up at his name being called, signaling for him to pick up his coffee sitting at the ready on the counter. Lance waved goodbye and picked up his drink. Keith, watching him, was suddenly compelled to get up and run after the other student out the door.

“Lance!” He called, stepping outside at Lance’s retreating back. The other man stopped and turned around with a surprised expression on his face.

“Uh, yeah, what’s up?” He blinked, his deep blue eyes sparking in the setting sun light.

“You should have gotten it!”

Lance blinked at him again, this time a little stunned. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You should have gotten the role! Or at least be a part of the main cast! You are amazing and so talented, above everyone else. I saw you last year, as Bernardo in A West Side Story, and dude you fucking killed it! I don’t understand how or why your name isn’t up there on that list – a person who has the talent and fucking balls to go for these roles. Honestly, if it wasn’t for your audition, if I didn’t admire you so damn much, I would have never gotten the courage to go up there and sing.”

Keith stopped and realized what he said, completely mortified at his basic admission for being Lance’s fan.

Lance just stared, and Keith stuttered out an apology and turned to leave, when he caught a melodious laugh from the young man behind him. He turned back around, ready to give Lance a piece of his mind, but he stopped, enraptured by the other’s beautiful smile.

“Dude, wait, I’m so sorry.” Lance waved frantically, trying to calm down. “I’m just shocked that’s all.” He corrected himself again at Keith’s embarrassed expression. “I just never thought that I was someone to be admired at all.” He shyly looked away. “I…I appreciate it. Thanks.”

“I really meant it. You’re incredible Lance.” Keith fought off a blush at Lance’s bashful smile.

“You’re pretty alright, Mullet Head. Here,” Lance then pulled out his phone and asked for Keith’s number.

Keith’s digits stumbled out of his mouth, and soon felt his own phone vibrate with Lance’s text.

“Don’t be a stranger.” Lance winked and headed back to his destination.

Keith almost died.

 

 


End file.
